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Googlebot watches Gmail. I recently bought a new domain name and kept an active search window open for very specific keywords to make sure it didn't go live until I was ready for it to. The people who received the link to the domain are trustworthy to not blab about it (e.g. tweet, post, etc) until I'm ready.

That said, two days ago I sent a link to precisely one person with a Gmail account. This morning, Google search results returned positive for search discovery. Googlebot is definitively watching Gmail for references to new domains and the number of references passed around within Gmail might actually affect PageRank.

This shouldn't really surprise anyone, but it should be something to be aware of if you want to keep a product launch a secret. In my case, it doesn't really matter.

Over the years, I've had a vested interest in Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Law. As a software developer, having that knowledge at your disposal can be an invaluable tool to avoiding legal issues. We are in the business of writing complex software products, any of which may infringe at any time. Before I begin though, I am not a lawyer and what follows, while good common sense, is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, find a good attorney. I recommend reading the actual laws surrounding Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents by visiting the various official .gov websites for yourself, which link directly to and have copies of the relevant laws available. If you are a software developer in a country other than the United States, you should make yourself aware of your own country's intellectual property laws. I'm hoping that what I have to say here is just reiterating what you already know as a software developer. What follows is opinion mixed with generally go…